Baseball, gambling and more: @WSJSports. Teach: @columbiajourn, @Mville_U. Author: SWING KINGS (@wmmorrowbooks). Email: jared.diamond@wsj.com.
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Rule 1: Don’t tweet.
Rule 2: If you do tweet, don’t tweet again.
Rule 3: Never tweet through it.
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Major League Baseball is on record of saying it wants to expand to 32 teams at some point in the not-too-distant future. I'm not sure you can convince me that there are two other markets better than Oakland.
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NEWS: NBC has made an offer to MLB to take over Sunday Night Baseball and the rest of ESPN's baseball inventory starting next season.
With @JBFlint
wsj.com/business/media/nbcun…
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ESPN has reached an agreement with the KBO to air games from Korea live. Opening day is tomorrow. More details to come.
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Since everybody apparently is mad at "Game of Thrones" now, here's a question for you: What's a TV show that you thought ended well?
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EXCLUSIVE: A January letter from Rob Manfred to Jeff Luhnow reveals the Astros "dark arts" and "Codebreaker" — the operation behind the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.
wsj.com/articles/houston-ast…
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Imagine arguing about Spider Tack when Shohei Ohtani, Jacob deGrom, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Fernando Tatís Jr. are playing baseball.
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If you're a GM and the Astros call asking to trade for one your players, and you don't know why they want said player, you should immediately hang up the phone and figure out what you're not seeing.
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Some gambling notes:
Oakland pitcher Michael Kelly bet a total of $99.22 on MLB games. That cost him an entire year. He was set to make $740,000 this season.
Tucupita Marcano bet more than $87,000 on MLB. Twenty-five included Pirates games. He lost every parlay involving PIT.
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Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Gary Sanchez and Didi Gregorius combined for 169 home runs in 2017.
The Red Sox hit 168.
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It's unfathomable that Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Pete Alonso combined for 112 home runs, 324 runs scored and 317 RBIs, and the Mets missed the playoffs.
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'50s: Six titles won by two teams.
'60s: Nine titles won by one team.
'70s: Four titles won by two teams.
'80s: Eight titles won by two teams.
'90s: Eight titles won by two teams.
'00s: Seven titles won by two teams.
But, yeah, the Warriors killed competitive balance in the NBA.
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People will say that this is a sad way for CC Sabathia to end his career, but I disagree: There is no shame in pitching until your body literally cannot pitch anymore.
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Sean Doolittle has a mission this season: He wants to help save local, independent bookstores.
“I want to support these places that are active in their communities, that are trying to be supportive and inclusive spaces for their communities.”
wsj.com/articles/the-all-sta…
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My dad is on the Metro leaving Nationals Park and sent me this picture of the dude standing next to him. You’re welcome, America.
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My best friend since the first grade texted me this tonight. I have to imagine he's not alone here. If he, a truly hardcore baseball fan, feels that way, it says a ton.
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A year ago, @ChristianYelich decided to take a meeting with the MLB marketing team in New York. His reason? Baseball players aren't pop culture celebrities like their NBA and NFL counterparts.
Christian Yelich wants change that.
wsj.com/articles/somebody-ne…
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Here's a list of players who had 45 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored in their rookie season:
Aaron Judge
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Never forget that MLB wants you to overvalue prospects. It's in the owners' best interest. The league has done an amazing PR job at convincing fans that prioritizing the future over the present is a brilliant baseball strategy rather than what it is: a way to suppress wages.
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I feel like we should talk more about how the Marlins had Giancarlo Stanton, Christian Yelich, Marcell Ozuna and J.T. Realmuto on the same team.
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I need you all to understand how many VERY smart people in baseball view running the Rockies as a dream job.
It's the ultimate challenge -- trying to figure out how to build a winner in that environment. Smart executives are tantalized by it. They want to prove they can do it.
The Colorado Rockies announced today that Bill Schmidt has stepped down from his role as general manager.
The Rockies will begin an external search for a new head of baseball operations immediately.
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If this ends with Terry Collins managing the Mets again this will officially be the Weirdest Baseball thing ever.
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The people questioning Max Scherzer's toughness for not pitching tonight -- and there are plenty of them right here on Twitter dot com -- would literally be in a hospital bed with a morphine IV if they experienced the kind of pain that keeps pro athletes from playing.
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"If your reaction to someone having a baby is anything other than, 'Congratulations, I hope everybody's healthy!' you're an a**hole." -- Sean Doolittle on Daniel Hudson's paternity leave
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Rob Manfred said repeatedly that the Astros' cheating was "player-driven." No players were punished.
There's a reason for that: MLB and the MLBPA cut a deal early in the investigation granting immunity for honesty.
Here's why and how that went down.
wsj.com/articles/astros-play…
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If you’re a younger fan, it’s hard to understand how little kids in 1998 cared about the possibility that players were on steroids. I was 10. Watching Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa chase 60 was the greatest thing in the world. All these years later, my memories remain untainted.
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Manfred: There will be 100% be a season!
Players: Tell us when and where!
Manfred: There might not be a season actually.
That happened between Wednesday and today.
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My first tweet of 2019 is to remind you that all 30 baseball teams could afford to give Bryce Harper a 10-year contract and would all have a better chance of winning the World Series if they did.
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It was all there for baseball: a chance to be the first major team sport back on July 4, an opportunity to command the nation's airwaves all month, a moment to galvanize old fans and inspire new ones. It was right there.
And baseball completely blew it.
wsj.com/articles/baseball-ha…
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Ichiro is been playing professional baseball for 27 years, or longer than the entire lives of a large portion of the people reading this tweet.
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Ryan Zimmerman has played for the Nationals in every season of their existence. He's outlasted two GMs, seven managers and Bryce Harper. He's seen dismal losing and miserable heartbreak.
He's the face of the franchise. Now he's going to the World Series.
wsj.com/articles/if-its-happ…
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The West Michigan Whitecaps, the High-A affiliate of the Tigers, are heading into their last weekend with an INSANE record of 90-38. They have a chance to become the first MiLB club with a .700 winning percentage in nearly 30 years.
Absolutely insane.
wsj.com/sports/baseball/west…
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Jarred Kelenic was in the Appalachian League last year. The entire landscape of baseball will be different by the time he is in the major leagues. The Mets have Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler and Steven Matz now. Anything but an all-out push to win is irresponsible.
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You want video? I think you want video. Here's Keith Hernandez wondering if "el peñaco" means "home runs."
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Eugenio Suarez is the best bubble-gum blower in baseball, leaving his teammates in awe. The Guinness World Record holder for the largest bubble ever -- 20 inches in diameter! -- wants to meet him and discuss bubble-blowing technique. I wrote about it. wsj.com/articles/eugenio-sua…
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Ryan Carpenter is a pitcher for the Rakuten Monkeys in Taiwan.
His fiancée secretly arranged to have her face put on four cardboard cutouts of "fans" so she could be in the crowd for his games.
Inside one of the only sports leagues now playing on Earth:
wsj.com/articles/baseball-is…
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My latest for @WSJSports: Shams Charania of the Athletic moved NBA Draft betting lines with a tweet Thursday. Charania also has a financial partnership with FanDuel. His association with a news organization and a gambling company has raised questions.
wsj.com/sports/basketball/nb…
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These dudes came to the ballpark each wearing one of the many major-league uniforms worn by Brewers folk hero Erik Kratz.
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We'll all be laughing when the Dodgers get Scherzer and Turner, the Giants get Bryant and the Padres get Berríos, and then the Brewers wind up in the World Series.
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If the Mets tender Matt Harvey, he'll be this guy forever. If they don't, he'll immediately revert to 2013. You know I'm right about this.
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Just cancel the game and let Vin Scully stand on the mound and entertain us for the next 3 1/2 hours.
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You knew the Astros and Nationals had great starting pitching. You probably didn't know that it's historic.
For the first time ever, this World Series will feature six different starting pitchers with an ERA+ of 130 or better.
Buckle up.
wsj.com/articles/astros-nati…
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Yasiel Puig just walked into the Dodgers clubhouse with Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" blasting from his headphones.
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I was rejected by Northwestern's journalism school at this time in 2005. Turned out it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to me, since I ended up at Syracuse, stayed closer to home, met my wife and landed my dream job. Not sure things would've worked out this way at NU.
Lot of high school seniors who applied early admission to college are getting news today that maybe they didn’t want.
Everything is going to be ok.
Rejection sucks but you can almost certainly end up someplace you absolutely love and get a great education. Hang in there.
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Unironically think Aaron Boone should've gotten himself run there. That call cost you Juan Soto up with the bases loaded. You're about to go 3-0 in the World Series. Your home ballpark is a morgue. Nothing is working.
Worth a shot at least.
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All-Star reliever Jeremy Jeffress bought a food truck this winter, called JJ's Bread & Butter. It'll serve the recipes from his favorite childhood restaurant, a 40-year-old fried seafood stand.
It arrives in Milwaukee this weekend. It sounds amazing.
wsj.com/articles/the-all-sta…
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*Hansel Robles starts warming up.*
KEITH HERNANDEZ: It's el peñaco... whatever that means.
**Long pause**
HERNANDEZ: Does it mean home runs?
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In all seriousness, the NL East could come down to one game. The Mets having Pete Alonso in the majors for the first three weeks of the season can legitimately make the difference between the playoffs and failure.
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NEWS: Federal prosecutors have been investigating whether NBA player Terry Rozier manipulated his performance as part of an illegal sports betting scheme.
The inquiry is part of a wider government investigation that has already ensnared Jontay Porter.
wsj.com/sports/basketball/te…
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I haven't heard of about 95% of the shows being talked about, and now I'm really glad I don't watch TV because I swear I don't have room in my life for this many great shows. Easier to just not watch any of them.
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The saga of Jeff McNeil adopting a puppy is legitimately the best Mets-related story since they won the pennant in 2015. Tell me I'm wrong.
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If you're for some reason offended about how Juan Soto takes pitches, I recommend instead to worry about literally anything else.
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993 different hitters had at least one AB against Mariano Rivera in his career. Nearly half of them failed to record a hit. Then there's Edgar Martínez. He went 11-for-19 against Rivera. Here's their story: wsj.com/articles/the-hitter-…
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On SNY, Brodie Van Wagenen just criticized the Mets of the recent past for going into seasons saying, "If Player X and Player Y and Player Z does well, we'll be OK." He says he wants to eliminate those "ifs."
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Dave Roberts owes Roki Sasaki a sushi dinner. Tommy Edman owes Freddie Freeman a Porsche.
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MLB is coming back with no fans in attendance at first, but that doesn't mean there is no way to see live games this year.
I wrote about the luckiest baseball fans in America: people who live in apartments with views directly into MLB stadiums.
wsj.com/articles/baseball-st…
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Rob Manfred said that the Terry Collins/umpire viral video has been scrubbed from the internet because a collectively bargained agreement with the umpires that said those interactions involving microphoned umpires wouldn’t be made public. MLB is trying to figure out how it leaked
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The Dodgers have hit eight home runs today. Your reminder that their new hitting coach, Robert Van Scoyoc, is 32-years-old and barely played baseball above high school.
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David Ortiz underwent a third surgery for complications resulting from his gunshot wound, according to his wife, Tiffany. "David is recovering well and is in good spirits," she said.
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At a time when baseball fans are aging and the sport is struggling to maintain its place in the American sports culture, we have arrived at a moment where baseball team owners are actively pushing... for less baseball.
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The Padres have now gone 8,020 games without a no-hitter, breaking the Mets' previous mark of 8,019 games for the longest no-hitter drought to begin a franchise's existence in baseball history. Mets fans can celebrate now.
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At this point the Mets should honestly just call up Tim Tebow. The team would still lose, but at least one of the players would do some good for the world.
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When Robert Herjavec's private jet landed in Toronto border patrol officials rushed on board.
"Where is he?!" one asked.
"Who?" Herjavec responded.
"Ohtani!"
This is the story of how one of the stars of "Shark Tank" accidentally broke Canada's heart.
wsj.com/sports/baseball/shoh…
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I never thought I'd see anyone do anything like 2016 Gary Sanchez again. Then Aaron Judge came along.
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At lunch today, sat next to a couple of Nationals fans and a couple of Astros fans. They spent the whole time talking about how much they like players on each others’ teams, how much fun this season has been and how excited they are for tonight.
Sometimes, baseball is good.
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Bullpens around baseball are struggling. Reliever ERA is worse than starter ERA, which hasn't happened in 50 years.
One potential reason: There literally aren't enough human beings on Earth good enough at pitching for teams to use their 'pens this much.
wsj.com/articles/the-startin…
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Ryan Zimmerman, a career National who has played in every season of the Nationals entire history, has two hits and two RBIs in the franchise's first-ever NLCS game in Washington.
Sometimes, baseball is good.
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If you're worried about the season being "illegitimate" because of the low number of games and expanded playoffs, you're really missing the point. It's going to be a weird season. The whole world is weird right now! Just be happy we'll (probably?) get baseball at all in 2020.
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A word about Jed Lowrie: Successful baseball teams don't worry about positional "fit" nearly as much as you might think. They seek out the best available talent and try to amass as much of it as possible and then figure out how to deploy it. Just look at the '17 and '18 Dodgers.
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Tim Anderson has never seen FIELD OF DREAMS. That story of baseball nostalgia and sentimentality isn’t his story.
This is Anderson’s story: He’s young, Black, supremely talented — and on a mission to prove the sport he calls “corny” can still be cool.
wsj.com/articles/tim-anderso…
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BTS is a sensation in the United State. "Parasite" just won Best Picture at the Oscars. Now the KBO is the beacon for global sports and airing on ESPN.
South Korean pop culture is having A Moment in this country. For Korean-Americans, it's everything.
wsj.com/articles/bts-parasit…
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The Dodgers are now on pace to win 114 games this season. We are witnessing one of the greatest teams in baseball history.
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Fans who care about batting average and RBIs are totally awesome and great, and people who shame them for valuing those stats and not knowing what OPS means are hurting the game more than they realize.
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Jacob deGrom is literally the unluckiest in recorded baseball history. When a starter has posted an ERA under 1.00 over 10 starts, the team has never won fewer than four games.
DeGrom has a 0.87 ERA over his last 10 starts. The #Mets are 2-8. wsj.com/articles/baseballs-u…
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If you were alive for the A-Rod trade debacle, you already have that sneaking suspicion that this somehow ends with Mookie Betts on the Yankees. I am sorry to inform you about this.
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For all of you snarky people out there who respond to every tweet with, "You obviously never played the game."
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Can somebody please make any reasonable argument for why it makes any modicum of sense for the Mets to trade Noah Syndergaard for... J.T. Realmuto?
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Another look at the pitch that led to John Lackey and Willson Contreras's ejection. Pitch No. 5 was called a ball.
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I think it's a little weird that Yankees fans are all ganging up on the Astros without even the slightest thought that their team was doing more or less the same thing.
I'm not saying they were, but you have to understand illegal sign-stealing is a league-wide issue.
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UPDATE: He made baseball cool.
Tim Anderson has never seen FIELD OF DREAMS. That story of baseball nostalgia and sentimentality isn’t his story.
This is Anderson’s story: He’s young, Black, supremely talented — and on a mission to prove the sport he calls “corny” can still be cool.
wsj.com/articles/tim-anderso…
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On May 22, MLB lawyer Pat Houlihan wrote a letter to MLBPA lawyer Jeff Perconte that said, "We agree with the Association that, under the [March] Agreement, players are not required to accept less than their full prorated pay."
Here’s Major League Baseball’s statement.
With that phrase accusing the union of failing to bargain in good faith, it’s practically written to present to an arbitration panel the moment a grievance is filed.
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Most complete games this decade (since 2010):
Clayton Kershaw: 25
Adam Wainwright: 19
Roy Halladay: 18
*Halladay last pitched in 2013.
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For baseball to start, these two things are nonnegotiable:
1) MLB must be able to ethically gain access to tens of thousands of coronavirus tests.
2) There must be a solid plan in place for what happens if someone tests positive.
It’s not impossible. But it’s hard.
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